Jim Nichols: Mr. Obama, do what needs to be done

Apr. 10, 2011

The present military adventure in Libya under the guidance of President Obama leads me to the conclusion that he was the original inventor of the circular firing squad. What has been said and then changed numerous times by the president with respect to the objective of our involvement in this conflict would lead me to conclude that he will soon reinvent the circular firing squad in the form of a square.

After this charade is played out, Mr. Obama will call off his Keystone Kops brigade NATO and immediately embark on a worldwide apology tour, leaving at each stop a few billion of U.S. taxpayer money imprinted with "In the U.N. we trust" in red ink to emphasize the sincerity of his abject remorse for being the president of a great and powerful nation.

OK, so the preceding two paragraphs make no sense. I just wanted to be sure the writing matched the totally incoherent nonsense the Obama administration has been shoveling out of the White House the past few weeks. My questions are: Are there no adults with IQs over single digits working for the Obama administration? Is there no person who has the guts to say "Mr. President, this whole cock-eyed, apparently pointless foray into Libya is just plain dumb and will be a very expensive failure if Mr. Gadhafi is not sent to the big celestial tent in the sky?"

I think a good plan would be to find out where Gadhafi is hanging out and send him a get well card, return address omitted, attached to a Tomahawk missile. I think even a person as naive and indecisive as our president would understand regime change is serious business.

Mr. Obama needs to quit getting misty eyed over the prospect of getting rid of the leader of Libya. It should be quick, painful and permanent with respect to a brute like Gadhafi.

The American people seem to understand much more clearly than our president that what we are doing in Libya is spelled W-A-R. One of our greatest soldiers said it best: "Hesitation in war is but a prelude to disaster." I think, politically, this is where this Keystone Kops adventure is headed.

I have some advice for Mr. Obama, get rid of Gadhafi and his close associates. Put them in a neat pile in a public place so they can be found in case some kind-hearted souls want to bury them.

Mr. Obama should remember that regime change is not a church picnic. It is not for the faint-hearted. So, Mr. Obama, just pull up your knickers and do what needs to be done. Try to remember the United States is the most just and powerful nation on this planet, so just quit with the wailing and hand wringing over this thug. Get 'er done!